Graduation speeches from the class of 2013

Meet some standouts from the class of 2013, in their own words. HeraldNet collected commencement speeches from 61 student speakers at high schools across Snohomish County. Above is a snapshot of what’s on those speakers’ minds as they leave high school this year.

The 100 most frequently used words in the speeches, excluding common words such as “it” and “the,” appear in the “Wordle” above. The words that appeared the most are largest, including 149 instances of “high school” and 107 more of “years.” “People,” “time” and “today” all are also prominent.

Read the speeches for all the words from dozens of Snohomish County’s best and brightest students. You can find them here or choose from the list below.